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August 25, 1994 - Eel Hunting Like Those Nights of Old6A • The Suffolk Times • August 25, 1994 Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh "BILL EEL" GARFISH OR NEEDLEFISH —No matter what you call it, this efficient predator is bound to show up as the snapper season approaches. Watch for it as it steals your bait when fishing. Eel Hunting Like Those Nights of Old By Paul Stoutenburah With all the signs of fail reminding us how fast things are changing we de- cided to see if the eels were in. To many the sight or even the thought of eels turns them off, but to others they repre- sent the ultimate in gourmet eating. I happen to be one of those who thinks there is nothing better, whether fried or smoked. Eeling is an old -time tradition in our family and the hissing of gas lights and eel spearing at night always seems to quicken the pulse and set the stage for an evening of excitement. Living away from home has many advantages but there are still some dis- advantages, like not having all the ne- cessities that go into making an evening of eeling a success. We had to use a small, eight -foot dinghy and a makeshift light arrangement and a clam rake in place of a crab net to equip ourselves for a trial run that would tell us if the eels were there or not. The old Coleman gas lamp was pumped for use and lit. Its glow spread in a 10 -foot circle of yellow -white light around us. It died down once or twice but a flip of the clean-out lever brought it back into brilliance. A few nails and a board to hang the light on soon found us ready to set out. The long clam rake handle poked out over the end of the dinghy to be ready if we sighted any crabs. An oversize bucket with its plas- tic top was for the eels should we get any. Of course, the anchor line and chain became entangled amongst the oars that lay in the bottom of the boat which were brought along should the engine fail. it was tight, cramped quar- ters. Bill Eels and Night Herons Our first move was down the bay and it produced absolutely nothing in the eel line, but did give us a good look at the many "bill eels" we'd see throughout the night. I can remember these long, needle- pointed surface swimmers steal- ing our bait as we fished for snappers as kids. I'd spear one now so that I could take a picture of it later. As we turned into the creek we moved slowly along the grass banks where we disturbed a night heron who was stalking in the shallows. It flew off squawking and ut- tering dirty words. The water was murky as the tide was coming in. Usually I like an outgoing tide for then the great marsh can do its filtering job and make the water much clearer. This filtering is just one of the jobs that these marshes do for us. The sediment in the water is collected around the stems of the grasses and as Focus on Nature the tide goes out these sediments settle to the bottom of the bog, creating that soft, muddy texture that in turn acts as a fertilizer to the massive greenery that makes up the salt marsh. It's one of nature's beautiful cycles to those who understand it. As we went along we'd find the bill eels sometimes shooting off away from the light and into the safety of the darkness beyond; others, being blinded by the light, would bump into the boat only to be startled and leap out of the water at lightning speed. Later, back home with one in hand I was able to check out these garfish or needlefish more closely and was amazed at the number of sharp teeth all along that long, pointed bill. Each one of the teeth, razor sharp, pointed back towards the head so that any spearing or killifish that was caught had no chance of slipping out. It was truly a beautifully designed predator; even its coloration was perfect, green above to blend in with the water when looking down on it, and silver and white on its side and belly blended in with the light sky above when seen from below. Its huge, oversized eye gave it an edge in hunting at night. It must have been a true terror to those innocent, small bait fish resting along the water's surface. Fall Colors Start to Show As we moved along close to the dark bank I could see the plant salicornia, a thick - branched plant of the marsh getting ready to turn to its crimson color of fall. Amongst it, already blossoming, was sea lavender. Its dainty lavender flowers are marvels when looked at through a hand lens. How perfect and delicate they are. Bouquets picked and dried are a wonderful bit of memorabilia. We always keep one of the mantlepiece through the winter to remind us of days gone by. I saw three of four crabs and tried for all, but with the clumsy clam rake only caught one. it would be tasted later. Crabs seem to go in cycles but nothing like years ago when crabs could have been caught by the dozen. We seem to have taken the heart out of our creeks for they no longer produce the way they once did. It's too bad, for they were a valuable resource that all enjoyed. Clams, oysters and scallops were common throughout our East End. Now we have to physically seed the area with baby clams and scallops to get any at all. Could it be our creeks are telling us something? The eels haven't yet come into our creeks for I saw only two and got both of them. One must have weighed at ■ wlspw ■ wwL ■lwwL 82 Years Ago August 24, 1912 Greenport Dredge Wrecked in Florida: The Suffolk Weekly Times received word of the wreck of the big government dredge, St. Johns, which was built by the Greenport Basin & Construction Co., in 1905. The big vessel, which was valued at $180,000, has been operating on the St. Johns River, Florida. The day of the disaster, she was proceeding to sea when apparently the steering gear refused to work. She veered south, striking a sandbar near the rocks of the jetties. Cost of Panama Canal Announced: The recently published figures showing that the Panama Canal will have cost at least $375,000,000 by the time it is com- plete, bring out some interesting figures regarding the cost of some noted pieces of engineering construction: Grand Central Terminal, NY, $180,000,000; Suez Canal, $100,000,000; New York Interboro Subway (when com- pleted in 1908), $75,000,000; Erie Canal $42,540,800. 50 Years Ago August 25, 1944 Truck Tire Shortage Critical: Due to the extreme shortage of truck tires caused by the manpower shortage in the factories, the insurance of truck tires all over least two pounds or more — a real granddaddy. I flipped it into our makeshift bucket, with the loosely fitting plastic top, only to find Mr. Eel would have none of it. Out it shot! Out into the bottom of the dinghy, slipping and sliding amongst all the debris. Of course, this didn't go over too well with Barbara, who was in the back helping to maneuver the boat in the darkness. I knew how she felt for every once in a while I'd feel this thing wiggle across my feet as I stood up front poised like some harpooner of old. Meanwhile we'd be entertained by the small bait fish that seemed to rest just below the surface of the water. Our light and intrusion startled them as they'd scoot away in all directions to the darkness that meant safety. Off in the distance we could hear the katydids keeping up their evening chorus of "Who did and who didn't." There was no wind and every once in a while an almost full moon would peek out from behind the cotton candy clouds that shifted above. Back home we'd clean the eels and smoke them. The crab would be dropped into boiling water and when taken out wear a bright new suit of red. We had sampled what was there. From now on we'll be checking the night waters of our East End in hopes, as he season moves on, our catches will be more rewarding. the country has been taken out of the hands of local boards and placed with Central Truck Tire Boards. . Christmas Plans Underway: Christmas Seals are now available for the mailing of overseas packages. The War Department and the Post Office have set the period from September 15 to October 15 as "Christmas Mail Month" for overseas. Most of our servicemen and women long familiar with the use of Christmas Seals will recognize them as carving special greetings for Good Health. 25 Years Ago August 29, 1969 Focus of Farming: "A great deal of the beauty of our area will be lost if the population explosion erases our open, farm areas," said Linc Wells, agricultural agent for Suffolk County. Statistics forecast that, of the 59,000 acres in agriculture in 1965, all but 5,000 will be needed for resi- dential, commercial, factory and other uses by 1985. ELIH Hires Resident Physicians: Eastern Long Island Hospital has announced that two resident physicians will be retained shortly by the Greenport hospi- tal to provide 24 -hour coverage seven days a week on a year -round basis. This constant coverage on hospital premises will enable many patients to receive medical attention in the event that the family physician is not imme- diately available.